


Dumbledore's Army Defends Again

by Starrik



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 04:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11177358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starrik/pseuds/Starrik
Summary: Harry applies for the DADA position at Hogwarts. A one-shot for now, might become a longer fic if anyone's interested.





	Dumbledore's Army Defends Again

“Mr. Potter?” Professor McGonagall looked quite shocked to see Harry as he entered the Headmistress’ Office. Personally, he was just glad that she’d addressed him in exactly the same way that she always had.

“Afternoon Professor McGonagall,” he replied, taking the seat across from her at the desk. It was much neater than Dumbledore had ever kept it, and at the same time covered in much more paperwork. Clearly Minerva McGonagall was not content to rely on her deputy to the extent that Dumbledore once had.

“But, Harry I thought you already had a job. Auror Potter, the man who defeated Voldemort, striking fear in the hearts of Dark Wizards and Witches everywhere?” Her voice sounded a little strangled, and Harry wondered if it might be because she too was remembering that Tom Riddle had long ago sat right where he was then, applying for the very same position. Harry lifted a hand to sheepishly scratch at the back of his neck.

“Yeah, about that… Most of the Death Eaters are in prison, or bought their way out of guilt just like last time. These days there’s a lot more sitting at my desk and really thinking about the series of poor choices that lead me there.”

“Poor choices, Mr. Potter?” she asked, looking slightly confused, the same way she’d always looked at everything Neville had ever transfigured in her class.

“You remember, don’t you? Old Toad-Face herself, Umbridge, breathing down the back of your neck while we tried to figure out my career path. Once she said I couldn’t be an Auror, neither of us even thought about another job for me. And that was that.”

A small smile crept onto McGonagall’s face at the memory. “I have never before nor since been so proud of my students for rebellion.”

“If I remember rightly, it wasn’t just the students who rebelled.”

The smile deepened, and Professor McGonagall relaxed. “Your memory does not fail you, Mr. Potter.”

“Actually, it was that year that brought me here in the end. I became an Auror because I was so focused on defeating Voldemort that I couldn’t really think about doing anything else. Besides, I wasn’t actually very good at that,” Harry admitted, looking even more sheepish than before.

“I beg your pardon Mr. Potter, whatever do you mean?”

“Well, Hermione did a lot of the investigating, and Ron has always been better than me at tactics. I only ever did the bit at the end, the actual showdown. And Auror work is a lot more of the first two than the last. Professor, I might have been the Chosen One, but that doesn’t make me a great Dark Wizard Hunter.”

“You always were a humble student,” she replied.

“Anyway,” Harry hurried on, a little thrown off by the compliment, “I realised the most happy I’ve been ever doing anything like a job was when I was leading the DA.”

McGonagall went quiet for a moment, clearly considering what Harry had said. It was undeniably true that he’d been a fantastic teacher to his classmates, Dumbledore’s Army had fought alongside the Order without concern for their own lives. And many of them had taken down Death Eaters, the Battle of Hogwarts would have been utterly hopeless without them. Harry himself had excelled at Defense Against the Dark Arts throughout his years at Hogwarts, and the other pickings for the position this year were… slim, at best. Mundungus Fletcher had applied, though she had her suspicions that he’d mostly done so to try and steal from her office.

“Mr. Potter, you are of course aware that the Defense Against the Dark Arts position remains… cursed by the former Dark Lord you defeated?”

“Most of the teachers that you’ve had since then have only agreed to teach for a year anyway, and some of them caused their own end of year misfortune. Besides,” he grinned, “if anyone’s not afraid of moldy Voldy’s curse, it’s me.”

 

He got the job.


End file.
